I’m not a big fan of “anniversary” stories, but I am all about things that appear to be moving Hawaii forward.

You may recall that, in 2000, the state Legislature authorized $1 million to create a consortium of the University of Hawaii Community Colleges called the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training, or PCATT.

The goal: Train our work force for the tech jobs that are coming to dominate the economic landscape. Since its inception, biotechnology, networking, programming, web development, security, Computer-Aided Design, database management, digital media, fiber optics and geographical information systems have all been part of the program.

Lueder tells me that PCATT has created partnerships with Oracle, Microsoft, Red Hat, Cisco, Apple and VMware — not bad names for a state looking to expand its economic horizon beyond visitors and the military.

She says approximately 17,000 people have gone through PCATT training. Typical student? Someone already in the industry who wants to add a skillset or, in Lueder’s words, “retool themselves.”

Knowing its target audience, PCATT has tried to be flexible when it comes to scheduling. Shorter courses and evening hours are part and parcel of the program, as are some 2,000 online offerings.

PCATT is headquartered out of Honolulu Community College, but it has locations at every community college statewide.

Thanks, Billie, for giving me the heads-up. PCATT is certainly a story worth telling. Oh, I almost forgot: It will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on Oct. 22.

Editor Kevin Bumgarner can be reached at 808.955.8030 | krbumgarner@bizjournals.com

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